“A Corporate Trojan Horse”: Obama Pushes Secretive TPP Trade Pact, Would Rewrite Swath of U.S. LawsAs the federal government shutdown continues, Secretary of State John Kerry heads to Asia for secret talks on a sweeping new trade deal, the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The TPP is often referred to by critics as “NAFTA on steroids,” and would establish a free trade zone that would stretch from Vietnam to Chile, encompassing 800 million people – about a third of world trade and nearly 40 percent of the global economy.

The Politics of the 14th Amendment and the Debt LimitBruce Bartlett held senior policy roles in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations and served on the staffs of Representatives Jack Kemp and Ron Paul. He is the author of “The Benefit and the Burden: Tax Reform – Why We Need It and What It Will Take.”

Our Democracy Is at StakeThis time is different. What is at stake in this government shutdown forced by a radical Tea Party minority is nothing less than the principle upon which our democracy is based: majority rule. President Obama must not give in to this hostage taking – not just because Obamacare is at stake, but because the future of how we govern ourselves is at stake.

California governor signs law defying cooperation with NDAA indefinite detentionCalifornia Governor Jerry Brown has signed a law barring state cooperation with any attempt by the federal government to indefinitely detain people. The legislation targets the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Brown signed into law AB351, which goes beyond any other state in rejecting federal indefinite detention power, according to the Tenth Amendment Center.

Bank of America in record settlement over ‘robocall’ complaintsCredit: Reuters/Eduardo Munoz A man walks next to a Bank of America’s branch in New York October 24, 2012. The settlement will resolve multiple proposed class action lawsuits filed on behalf of 7.7 million of the bank’s credit card and mortgage loan customers, according to court documents.

The 10 Stealth Economic Trends That Rule the World TodayWhat’s going on in the world today? It’s hard to keep up. Some facts are familiar to anyone who reads the news. Unemployment is high. Growth is slow. Shale gas is a big deal. But beyond the caps-lock headlines, subtler, but no less significant, shifts are changing the U.S.

Bank of America accused of racketeering in lawsuitA lawsuit in federal court in Colorado accuses Charlotte-based Bank of America of racketeering, in what amounts to more fallout for the bank stemming from a federal mortgage-modification program. The suit, filed Wednesday, claims violations of the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, also known as RICO.

Video: Robert Reich on ‘Inequality for All’BILL MOYERS: This week on Moyers & Company… ROBERT REICH: How do you constrain capitalism from doing stupid things that are not in the public interest? You have a democracy that is sufficiently well-functioning. That laws and rules limit what can be done.

Countrywide Whistle-Blower Says U.S. Talks Spurred Him to SueA former official at .’s Countrywide unit said he went to federal authorities and filed a whistle-blower lawsuit after learning the government might settle with the lender. Edward O’Donnell, who now works for Fannie Mae, said he contacted the office of Manhattan U.S.

Evidence NSA ‘illegally’ monitored anti-Vietnam dissidents, including journalists and two senatorsDecades before Edward Snowden’s leaks the National Security Agency secretly monitored the communication of prominent Americans who were opposed to the Vietnam War, including at least two sitting US senators. The six-year spying program known as Minaret, which lasted from 1967 to 1973, was disclosed in the 1970s but the identity of those who the government kept tabs on has been under wraps until now.

Sen. Ron Wyden: NSA ‘repeatedly deceived the American people’The Senate Intelligence Committee yesterday held a hearing, ostensibly to investigate various issues raised about the NSA’s activities. What the hearing primarily achieved instead was to underscore what a farce the notion of Congressional oversight over the NSA is.

Where Business Elite Succeed and Fail With MeditationAlmost every day, there is news of another corporate executive coming out and saying, “I meditate. It has changed my life and improved my business. I am telling my employees, telling everyone in order to do my best work, I meditate.”